Electric igniter with condenser as storing device for the ignition current



Jan. 19, 1932. H. RUHLEMANN 1,341,983

ELECTRIC IGNITER WITH CONDENSER .AS STORING DEVICE FOR THE IGNITION CURRENT 4 Sheets-Sheet l I NVENTEI Filed Oct. 10, 1951 HerZer'Z 195L242 mam$ BY M ATFEI FgN EY.

Jan. 19, 1932. H. RUHLEMANN 1,341,983

ELECTRIC IGNITER WITH CONDENSER AS STORING DEVICE FOR THE IGNITION CURRENT Filed Oct. 10, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 g- A He rial-Z" HJLZe me 7777 J. 19, 1932. 4 1 RUHLEMANN 1,841,983

ELECTRIC IGNITER WITH CONDENSER AS STORING DEVICE FOR THE IGNITION CURRENT Filed Oct. 10, 1931 4 Sheets-$heet 3 Jan. 19, 1932. RUHLEMANN 1 1,341,983

ELECTRIC IGNITER WITH CONDENSER AS STORING DEVICE FOR THE IGNITION CURRENT Filed Oct. 10.. 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INJENT'EIFQ V Hal-Bert HzJZZe'maW-n Patented. Jan. 19, 1932 stare earner crease HERBERT R'UHLEMANN, OF SOMMERDA, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO RHEINISCHE METALL- WAAREN-UND MASCHINENFABRIK, OF DUSSELDORF-DER-ENDORFF, GERMANY, A

CORIPORATION OF GERMANY ELECTRIC IGNITER WITH CONDENSER. AS streams DEVICE ron. THE IGNITION CURRENT Application filed October 10, 1931, Serial No. 568,175, and in Germany April 11, 1931.

The electric igniters or fuses, which in the form of percussion, time, or double igniters for projectiles, grenades, mines, or other bodies containing percussion charges, which carry the electrical energy necessary for igniting an igniting agent stored in condensers, containtwo condensors connected in-opposition to one another and with means for the mutual variation of the voltage of their storedenergies, the difference-of potential between which, which gradually increases to the magnitude'required forthe ignition voltage, is employed for igniting the igniting agent; For reasons of safety andin the case of time igniters also for the purpose of attaininga simple way oftimingQthe igniter is given" the necessary electrical energy only shortly before use, from a source of voltage separate therefrom and only transiently connected thereto. In the case of igniters for projectiles this occurs at" the instant of firing off the projectile, or during-its passage through the bore of thegun, or only upon its leaving the mouth of the bore, in the case of grenades it occurs shortly after'their release, during the falling out of the throwing device.

In the above noted well known ignitcrs both igniting condensers must be charged-and each of them requires for this purpose at least one special connecting contact element insulated withrespect to the body of the igniter, both of'which'are to be placed into contact with the poles of a source of current. The possibility, however, exists that a defective making of the contact would 1- low only a single one of the ignitingconden'sers to become charged and duds or preigniters will be the result. The same condition may also arise due to breaks in the charging circuits of. the condensers during transportation, in the caseof igniters which previously have left thier points of manufacture in perfect condition. The known connections dotnot permit so shifting the electrical igniting means in the igniters that the leads thereto can be brought to the potential of the igniter body. v Between the latter, thus also between the igniting means itself and the body of the igniter,.a'poten'- tial difference exists during at least the instant of charging, which, in the case of injuries to the leads, would lead to a. preig- 'nition during the charging. Percussion igniters with condenser devices of the above described type may furthermore give rise to duds, due to the fact that upon the entering of the igniter into a target the action of the material of the target upon the charging contact terminals produces a short-circuit between the two condensers, whereby the dilference of potential thereof will become equalized before the percussion contact closure can produce the ignition. a The electrical igniter or fuse in accordance with the invention also: contains'a plurality of condensers used as storing means for the igniting currentand has the advantageous properties of the above noted-known 'igniters,

such assimplicity,;unlimited permanence in storage,safety in transportation-and in shooting-otf or throwing, the simplest possible timing means and extensive fields of usefulness. In the same; however, not the difference of potential formed between two condensers, but the voltage transmitted with delay to a single condenser, is used for igniting the igniting means. The new igniter-has' a condenser arrangement'wherein a condenser which yields its energy as igniting currenthereinafter qejerred to as the igniting condenser-is connected to a second condenser which is chargeable by means of a source of current-- known as the storage condenserfrom which it receives its entire energy, or the partial energy still lacking for producing an ignition, by suitable means only after a cermin delay after the completion of the charg-l ing of the storage condenser.

The source of current for providing the energy" of the condensers may be arranged in the igniters' itself and rigidly connected to the latter, preferably, however, separated in the above noted manner from the igniter,j

and only transiently connected thereto for delivering current thereto. Then'the special advantage is obtained that only a single condenser of the igniter, namely the storage con denser, need be chargedfrom the outside, which can be done in each individual case with certainty. Due to this fact and due to the eculiar nature of the connections, the

possibility of dangerous premature ignitions is absolutely excluded. The essential em-' bodiments of the igniter for various types of ignition, and particularly advantageous details and possibilities of connection, which result in accordance with the general arrangement according to the invention, are

explained in greater detail in Figs. 1-13a of a (1 b b a is the storage condenser, one

coating (1 of which is connected with the body a of the igniter and whose second coating or armature a is connected either directly or, for example, through a normally open inertia switch-d to a charging contact element e insulated with respect to the body of the igniter! The second condenser bthe igniting condenser-is connected,to the storage condenser a by a direct connection of its coating b with a and by connection of its coating b toa through a high ohmic resistance An electric igniting agent 9 and a percussion closing contact 7; are connected in series acrossthe igniting condenser b.

The electrical energy necessary for producing an ignition is obtained by the ign ter after firing-0E the projectile, upon leaving .the mouth of the gun bore, from a stationary source of current, ,whose poles are connected,

' for example, to two contact springs i 2' procharging contact e of the igniter is connect-- jecting into the path of the projectile. Durin the acceleration of the pro ectile in the tu%e of the gun after the filllg, swingable contact element 1 contactelement (1 (Fig. 1) and the outer ed with the storagecondenser a. Upon e brushing past the contact spring d of the source of current and the simultaneous abutting of its second contact spring i against the body of the igniter c the storage condenser a is charge to a definite voltageiby the source of current. If the projectile has left the mouth of the bore, the acceleration of the projectile ceases and the outer charging contact e of the igniter will be disconnected b the automatically opening inertia switch d from the now charged storage condenser a. During the further flight of the projectile the-storage condenser. a discharges 'densers a and b to one another.

the resiliently of the inertia switch d (I is connected with its opposing 1 into the ignitin condenser 6 through the resistance f and t e latter gradually increases in voltage, while the storage condenser a loses the same. .This procedure is illustrated in the voltage-time diagram of Fig. 1a. The storage condenser 11 hereby after its charging, at the time t= O has an initial voltage E.,'

which gradually decreases according to the logarithmiccurve S as a result of the transfer of energy to the igniting condenser b.

The igniting condenser b, at the time t=O, thus directly after the charging of the igniter, has not yet any voltage, and such voltage grows therein only in accordance with the lines S3,, and in accordance with the decrease of energy of the storage condenser 11. The voltage curves of the two condensers a and b asymptotically approach a mean end voltage E the magnitude of which depends upon the ratio of the capacities of the two con- The larger the capacity of the storage condenser a is chosen with respect to the capacity of the igniter condenser b, the higher will be the final voltage E as is shown by the dotted lines.

In order to ignite the igniting agent 9 (Fig. 1) a minimum voltage-the igniting voltage E (Fig. 1a)is necessary in the igniter' condenser b, which, measured from the instant of charging the igniter, is produced only after the lapse of a certain time It. Only after the lapse of thissafety time period will the igniter have become capable of producing ignition. At that time it will already be at such a distance'from the gun, that an ignition produced by a premature closing of the percussion contact h will be free from danger for the gun and the gun crew.

As is clear from Fig. 1, one of the two lead wires leading to the igniting agent will be at the potential of the body by the grounding to the body of the condenser armatures 1),, a,. In case the other igniting agent wire should be injured and likewise have a ground, no danger of a premature ignition would exist at the instant of charging the igniter. The igniting agent is then short-circuited and solely a dud is the result.

If, dueto the striking of the igniter upon 4 a target, an immediate short-circuit should occur for any reason whatever in the charg ing circuit of the storage condenser'a,,then only the formerwill first dischar e. A discharge of the igniting condenser is so dolayed and prolonged by the high resistancef that before a fall of voltage making i nition impossible can occur in the condenser, ,-even, 4 the most non-sensitive percussion switch, for

example an inertia switch, will already have responded and brought about the ignition.

Inthe projectile percussion igniter in accordance with'Fig. 2, which in general structure is. similar to that of theonealready 'described in accordance with Fig. 1, the percussion closing switch It isarranged between the igniting agentg and the coating 6 of the igniting condenser b which is connected to the body of the igniter c. Thereby a simple percussion closing switch is produced which, for example, consists of a diaphragm switch in the point of the projectile, consisting of only a single metallic diaphragm h arranged in the body of the projectile and anopposlng contact element 7L insulated with respect to the body of the igniter.

The exemplary embodiments according to Figs. 3--5 relate to percussion igniters for hand grenades which, for example, at the instant of their release and falling-out of the throwing device are provided with the necessary electrical energy by means of a charging plug connected to a source of current of suitable voltage. The general structure of the igniter corresponds to that of Fig. 1. The igniters furthermore, however, are provided also with a device which posifively prevents the flowing of energy from the storage condenser aor from the source of current into the igniting condenser b during the time the storage condenser is connected to a source of current.

For this purpose, in the igniter accordin to Fig. 3, a special switch is arranged in the circuit leading from the storage. condenser a to the-igniting condenser b. This consists of an intermediate contact member is which is shiftable by means of the charging plug i from one connecting position, against spr1'ng pressure into a second position, and which is insulated with respect to the body of the igniter a. In the normal position when the plug is not introduced into the igniter, the

contact element it closes the circuit leading through theresistance f between the two condensers a and b by means of an end lug k insulated with respect to its body, and is thereby itself out of contact with the supply leads to the storage condenser a. When the charging plus 5 is inserted, (Fig. 3) the contact member is pushed inward to such extent that the connecting lead through the resistance f is interrupted between the two condensers a and b. Simultaneously the contact member is comes into contact with the lead to the storage condenser a, provides a connection between the same and the live parts of the source of current, and the storage condensera becomes charged. Only after the withdrawal of the charging plug 2' and the disconnection of the live parts Za -2' 1 from the storage condenser a, willthe connection between a and b be again established automatically, and the igniter condenser 72 charged from the storage condenser a, to

make an ignition possible.

In the igniter, according to Fig. 4, the igniting con-denser b is short-circuited during the charging of the-storage condenser a, in order to prevent a current from flowing into the igniter condenser, and thereby the ignit ing agent 9 is also short-c-ircuited. This occurs by means of a pin it, secured to, but insulated from, the intermediate contactmember h. After the insertion of the charging plug '2 and the abutting of the now live intermediate contact member is produced thereby, against one coatin of the storage condenser a, the pin member 1 short-circuits the ignitpig condenser b and the igniting agent 9 through the body 0 on the igniter, so that no storage condenser a supplies energy to the igniting condenser b.

In Fig. 5 a percussion igniter is illustrated wherein the two different devices for prevent- 1ng a premature transfer of energyinto the ignlting condenser b, illustrated in Figs. 3 p

and 4, are combined into asingle switch and produce the individual switching actions in a definite order. An intermediate contact ele ment is which is shiftable by the charging plug 2' in opposition to a spring 15 from an outer connecting position into an inner one, has an extension comprising two metallic pin members 10 and [c insulated with respect to the same and with respect to one another. In

the charging position of the intermediate contact member is, shown in Fig. 5, the forward pinportion [c of the latter short-circuits the igniting condenser b and thereby the igniting agent 9, through the body of the igniter, switches the igniting condenser 1) off by abutting of the insulating element 16 located betweenic and is against the divided portion of the connection leading through the resistancef, from the storage condenser a and further-4 more, by producing a contact between is and the lead passing through the storage condenser a connects the latter with the charging plug 2' so that the storage condenser (1 becomes charged. Upon passage of the contact element is into the second switch posi-- tion, during the withdrawal of the charging plugz}, first by the sliding-ofi' of the still live contact element It from the lead to the storage condenser a, the latter is disconnected from the charging plug 2' and then by entry I of the pin portion is intothe division point of the lead passing from the storage condenser a through the resistance 7 to the igniting condenser b, the latter is connected to the;

storage condenser a to receive energytherefrom and finally the short-circuit of the igportion 70 is removed.

niter condenser Z produced through the pin In the exemplar embodiment according to Fig. 6 all grounding to the body is avoided as well within the igniter as between the same and the charging plug. The igniter in this .case for charging the storage condenser a has two charging contact elements '70 and k insulated with respect. to the body'ot the igniter c.

In order to use the body of the igniter as a direct connection for the passage of current from the source lying outside of the igniter into the storage condenser and from the lat- In Figs. 8 to 10 percussion igniters are illustrated which, for example in the form of igniters for hand grenades, have two complete condenser arrangements, each of WhlCh actuates a specia-lagnitlng agency, in accordance I with the invention.

fill

The igniter, in accordance with Fig. 8, is capable of being set selectively to percussion ignition with delay or without delay. For this purpose it'is provided with two condenser arrangements A and A which are in-' dependent of one another, for example of the kind shown in Fig. 1, of which the arrangement A contains an igniting agent 9,, whose igniting beamnpon closing the percussion switch it, leads to immediate ignition of the explosive charge whereas in the second 'condenser arrangement, A the igniting agent g first acts upon a delay device o. Each of the condenser arrangements has an insulated insertion socket with an intermediate contact element for introducing 'a charging plug i the second pole 2' of the source of currentjs connected to the body 0 of the igniterr-The setting of the igniter to the desired type of ignition is accomplished by the particular nature of the charging. In order to provide,

a percussion ignition with delay, for example by the sole insertion of a charging plug '5 into the push socket of the condenser arrangement A only the. latter becomes charged, while the condenser arrangement A remains unconnected. For an i nition without delay, on the otherhand, both condenser arrangements A, and A or only A,

are charged. a

The percussion igniter in accordance with Fig. 9 has only a single push socket with an intermediate contact element, which upon "the insertion of a charging plug a, thereinto, connects the storage condensers of both condenser arrangements A, and Air.

to the source of current. Here also the setting .of the device to the desired type of ignition is accomplished by charging either only the condenser arrangement A which. operates with delay or both condenser arrangement's A and A This occurs automatically by the magnitude of the voltage fedto the igniter, In the lead to the storage condenser a of-the condenser arrangement A, for ignition without delay a discharge tube l is inserted, which the storage con enser from A and thereby the charging of the latter only when a charging voltage exceeding the break-down voltage of the tube 1,, occurs. Then both condenser at. range-ments A and A become charged and ermits a flow of current to the igniter gives instantaneous ignition upon impact. It the charging voltage is chosen smaller than the igniting voltage of the discharge tube Z ,'then only the condenser arrangement A will receive current and igni-' tion with delay,is obtained. The discharge tube Z instead'of being arranged between the charging plug and the storage condenser a could also be connected at any of the points Z Z i indicated in dotted lines or in the discharge circuit .of the igniting condenser b of the condenser arrangement A The use of a plurality of condenser devices each instituting a special ignition efiect may also be employed in order to make percussion igniters effective upon targets over water as well as targets located under water, without causing the igniter to produce an ignition upon striking the surfaceof the water. Such a throwable percussion igniter for action above and below water, shown, for example in Fig. 10, contains two condenser arrangements U andU each provided with aistorage condenser a andlan ignition condenser 11 acting through a percussion closing switch h upon an igniting agent 9, the-storage cons densers a of which are both charged when the device is" thrown. The condenser arrangement'IL acts in the case of targets above the water; after a short safety time interval its igniting condenser b has assumed the voltage necessary for producingan ignition upon striking a target above the water. If, however, the igniter'lands in the water, then the igniting condenser b of U is discharged by means of a. water contact m which shortcircuits the same, before the percussion closing switch h of a U which operates somewhat more slowly, uponimpact has also assumed the closed position necessary for Jignition.

The Voltage still present in the storage condenser a of U then likewise gradually becomes dissi ated through the water. contact m. The ignition condenser b of the condenser arrangement U for under-water action, on

the otherhand, becomes connected to its storage condenser a only'upon the striking of the ignite'r upon water, by means of a water'- contact n, in order to pick up energy from possible after the water short-circuiting be tween the discharged condenser arrangement U for under water targets, by a discharge tube Z or similarly acting means.

An igniter which is capable of being set for various types of ignition, for example the type shown in Figs. 8-10, may also, instead of being provided with a complete igniting arrangement for each type of ignition, have only two or more igniting condensers which deliver their energy in a definite manner as igniting current through electrical igniting agents, which are fed from a commonstorage condenser which can be charged from a source of current.

Fig. 11 shows such a throwing type igniter for operation without delay and with delay, which uses in all, only three capacities. Therein an ignition condenser b dischargeable with delay through a percussion'closing switch k and an igniting agent g and furthermore a second igniting condenser b likewise operating withoutdelay through a percussion closing switch h and an igniting agent g through a high ohmic resistance f and adischargetube Z connected in series therewith are connected 'to a common storage condenser a. At the instant of throwing of the igniter, only its storage condenser a is charged, namely with a small or large voltage in order to produce the desired type of ignition. With a small charging voltage not exceeding the break-down voltage of the discharge tube Z after the striking of the ignitor against a target an ignition with delay occurs because the storage condenser whas given off energy only to the igniting condenser b The igniting condenser b has remained uncharged, because the discharge tube Z has prevented a flow of current thereto through the resistance f Only upon charging the storage condenser a to a voltage which exceeds the break-down voltage of the tube 2., will the igniting condenser b receive, after a definite safety time interval, a voltage sufficient for igniting the ignition a'gent g so that upon impact upon a target an ignition without delay may occur.

The above noted connection withonly one storage condenser is also advantageously usable for igniters for use above and below water as shown in Fig. 12. The igniter contains t wo ignition condensers b and b each operating through a percussion closingswitch iii h and h and an ignitingagent g 'and g and capable of being supplied from a common storage condenser a through high ohmic resistances f and f Only the storage condenser a is charged by means of a source of current, the former then during the flight of the projectile charging only the ignition condenser be through the resistance f When the igniter strikes a target above the water accordingly the igniting agent g is ignited. Upon striking the water, on the other hand, the condenser b -is discharged by means of a water contact 0 short-circuiting the igniting condenser b -through the body a of the igniter before the condenser b produces an ignit-ion through its percussion closing switch h Atthe same time a see-0nd water contact 72 connects the second poleof the igniting condenser b to the storage. condenser (1. Through this connection namely a charging of the igniting condenser b occurs through the resistance f and upon the striking of the igniter upon an under-Water target the igniting agent g is caused to ignite by closure of the switch The igniter in accordance with Fig. 12 shows furthermore how, by the insertion of a percussion-closed switch and simultaneously a discharge tube into the discharge circuit of an ignition condenser, the energy thereof can be used for producing a percussion ignition as well as a time ignition. In parallel to the percussion-closed switch h and in series with the igniting agent g there is located in the discharge circuit of the condenser b a discharge 7 tube Z... If the igniter has struck neither an over-water target nor an underwater target, then the voltage which gradually increases continually in the igniting condenser b will eventually break down the discharge tube Z as soon as it has reached the value of the break-down voltage thereof.

Then a time ignition will occur automatically I under water through the ignition agent g The voltage relationships within the condenser arrangement may be seen from the voltage-time diagram of Fig. 12a. The stor age condenser a after its charging at the, time t=O has an initial voltage E,,, which decreases. as a result of the transfer of energy into the igniting condenser b according to the curve S The igniting condenser b at the time i=0 has as yet no voltage, and such voltage increases therein only in accordance with the line S The ignition voltage E sufficient for igniting the ignitingagent g has formed in the condenser b after the safety time interval t From then on'up to the striking of the igniter upon water at the time 25 an operation of the ignite-r is possible upon water, whereas from'this point on the second age condenser a.

igniting condenser b heretofore remaining uncharged, becomes charged from the stor- The latter further loses voltage in accordance with the curve S and in the i ition condenser 6 such voltage increases in accordance with the line S... After the safety time interval i measured from the time of striking the water, this Voltage has attained a magnitude sufficient for igniting the igniting agent 9 Now ignition underwater is possible, either upon striking a target, by closing the switch h or upon failure to strike such target an automatic time ignition would occur at the time t, after the voltage S in the condenser b hasareached the break-down voltage E of the break-down tube 1., and has broken down the said tube 2...

In Fig. 13 .the connection in accordance with the invention is shown applied to a pure time igniter, for example for projectiles. 'The structure of the igniter is similar essentially to that of the igniter according to Fig. 1. Only in place of the percussion closing switch of the latter it has a discharge tube Z in the discharge circuit of the igniting condenser b. Furthermore the inertia switch d d2 isarrangedbetween the storage co ndenser a and the outer charging contact 6, for example as a two-Way switch, in such way that it normally disconnects the contact e from the condenser a, thus providing the connection between the condenser a and the igniting condenser I) through the resistance f, whereasonly during the period of acceleration of the projectile, that is, at the instant of charging the igniter, does it interrupt the connection between a and b and connect the charging contact 6 to the condenser a. In the igniter likewise only the storage condenser (1 becomes charged, which then provides the igniting condenser bwith energy through the resistance f. If the voltage in the same has grown to the magnitude of the break-down potential of the tube Z, then a disruptive dis-. charge of voltage occurs automatically through Z, whereby the. igniting agent 9 is ignited.

The setting of the igniter to a definite time of ignition takes place directly upon charging, by the' nature of the current supply, namely by suitable determination of the charging voltage. vel of the'igniter a relatively high charging voltage is applied to its storage condenser a.. Then a strong flow of current takes place toward the igniting condenser 11 and b will assume a voltage sufiicient for breaking down the tube Z after only a short -time. Lower charging voltages will cause the flow of current from a to b through the resistance f to t'akeplace' more slowly and thus longer times of travel of the igniter mav be attained.

' hese relations are shown in the voltagetime diagram of Fig. 13a. An initial voltage E, of the storage condenser a, upon. gradual'decrease according to the curve S and simultaneous increase of a voltage in the igniting condenser 12, in accordance with the curve S allows the igniting voltage E necessary for breaking downthe tube Z to bev built up after the time interval t A higher initial voltage E in the condenser 11 provides, through its drop in voltage according to S... and through the increase in voltage S in the condenser b, an earlier at the time t I The timing of the igniter aside from varying the charging voltageor in addition to varying the charging voltage could also be' accomplished by regulating the. magnitude of the resistance of f, for which purpose f is constructed as an adjustable resistance. Such adjustable resistance can also. serve for the exact adjustment of the igniter. 1

In all the exemplary embodiments of igniters hereinbefore described, in accordance with the invention, upon use, only the storage condensers a are chargedfrom a source of current and supplied with the total energy necessary for the igniter. This, aside from the greater safety obtained for introducing the energy into the igniter, permits simplifying the igniter in an advantageous way and they also only have means (connecting terminals) for introducing electrical energy into their storage condensers.

It is possible, however, alsoto charge the ignition condenser initially with a certain voltage lying below the ignition voltage, and to provide it with the remaining energy necessary for producing anignition with a definite delay from the storage condenser. This may be advantageous particularly in the case. of time igniters, for example such as shown in Fig. 13, in order to make it pos-. sible to include all occurring times of ignition with a smaller range of voltage than is possible by simple charging of the storage condenser. For this purpose the igniting 110 condensers of the igniters may also be provided with externally located connection terminals, as carried out, for example, in the igniter according to Fig. 13, the charging intact 6 shown in dotted lines. In orderto obtain various times ofignition, now'the a I I I time or ignition For a short time of traigniting condenser 11 and its storage condenser a are charged simultaneously, however, with mutually different voltages. Va-' rious conditions thereby becoming possible are illustrated by means of the diagram of Fig. 13a. Let it be assumed that the storage condenser a isgiven the initial voltage +E Then the igniting condenser 12 may either be given a charge of the same kind, say +E In this case only a small amount of electricity need be introduced thereto from the condenser a, so that a rise in voltage according to the dotted curve S will produce the ignition even'after only a very. short timet' It is, however,-also possible to give the igniting condenser b a charge -E which has a polarity opposite to that of the storage condenser a. In combination with the initial voltage E of the storage condenser a, thena rise of voltage ,will occur in the ignition condenser b in accordance with the curve S and the ignition voltageE and thereby an ignition, will be attained only at the materially later instant of time It i I claim as my invention:

1. An electrical igniter wherein electrical capacity is used as storage means for the igniting current, comprising an ignition condenser which yields its energy in the form of ignition current, connected to a storage condenser which is chargeable from a source of current, from. which said ignition condenser receives its entire energy or the par-' tial amount still lacking for producing an ignition, and suitable means whereby said energy is supplied to the ignition condenser only after a certain delay; after the completion of the charging of the storage condenser.

2. An igniter as in claim 1, wherein the a ignition condenser'is connected to the storage condenser through a high ohniic'resistance. 3. An igniter as in claim 1, having also an igniting agent, and electrical leads betweenvthe said agent and the ignition .con-,

denser, one side of the storage condenser and one side of the ignition condenser being grounded to the body of theigniter, whereby one of the leads of the igniting agent is also brought to the potential of said body.

4. An igniter as inclaim 1, having also an electrical ignition agent, and electrical leads between the said agent and the. ignition condenser, one side of the storage condenser and one sideof the ignition condenser being groundedto the body of the igniter, whereby one of the leads of the igniting agent is also brought to the potential of said body, and a percussion-closingcontact in the discharge circuit of the ignition condenser, wherein the said percussion-closing contact is inserted between the igniting agent and that pole of the ignition condenser w hich is grounded to the body of the igniter.

5. igniter in accordance with claim 1, having also means which are actuated upon and by the connection of a source of current'to the storage condenser and which during the duration of said connection will prevent the flow of energy from the latter into the ignition condenser.

6. Igniter in accordance with claim 1, having also means which are actuated upon and by the connection of a source of current to the storage condenser and which during the duration of said connection will prevent the flow of energy trom the latter into the ignition condenser, and having also a switch in the circuit connecting the storage condenser to the ignition condenser. i

7, Igniter in accordance with claim 1, having also means whichare actuated upon and by the connection of a source of current to the storage condenser and which during the duration of said connection will prevent the flow of energy from the latter into the ignition condenser, and having also a switch in the circuit connecting the storage condense "to the ignition condenser, the switch being connected in the circuit between the twoconde'nsers in positive connection with a'movable contact element connected to or connectable to the storage condenser, so that upon contact of live parts with the storage condenser and during the charging of the latter which results, it automatically maintains the circuit opened between the two condensers.

8. Ign ter in accordance with claim 1, having means which are actuated upon and by the connection of a source of current to the thereby the igniting agent,connected there: to, and actuated upon and by the contact or live parts ivith the storage condenser.

9. Ifl'lltel' in accordance with claim 1 having alsov means wh ch are actuated upon and by the connection of a source of current to the storage condenser and which during the duration of said connection will prevent the flow of energy from the latterinto theignition condenser, a switch lWlllCh when iii chargingposition short-circuits the ignition condenser and at the same time disconnectsit from the storage condenser and furthermore v connects the latter with charging contact members which are connectable to a source of current, and in a second, normal'positiop, disconnects the charging contact elements from the storage condenser, connects the latter to the igniting condenser and removes the short-circuit from the latter.

10. An electrical igniter wherein electrical capacity is used as storage means for the igniting current, including two independent electrical systemseach comprising an. ignition condenser which yields its energy in the form of ignition current, connected to a stor-' age condenser which is chargeable from a source of current, from which said ignition condenser receives its entire energy or the partial amount still lacking for producing an ignition, and suitable means whereby said energy is supplied to the ignition condenser only after a certain delay after the completion of the charging of the storage condenser.

11. Igniter in accordance withclaim 10 which has two condenser arrangements provided with percussion-closing contacts in the ignition circuits of their ignitior condensers,

one of which is provided with means for attaining SJPGICUSSIOII ignition with delay and the second of which is provided with such for obtainingan-ignitionwithout delay. a v

12. Igniter in accordance with claim 10,

wherein, in the charging lead of the storage condenser of the condenser arrangementwith means of a charging voltage of definite mag-' nitude.

13. Igniter in accord'ance with claim for operation above and below water, characterized by the fact that it isiprovided with two condenser arrangements each having a storage condenser and an ignition condenser operating upon an igniting agent through a switch, wherein the condenser arrangement operating for above-water targets is dischargeable when the igniter strikes water by means of water contacts short-circuiting its condensers, before the production of an igni- -tion,-Whereas the igniting condenser of the second condenser arrangement which operates upon under-water targets, is connected to its storage condenser only upon the igniter striking water, by means of a water contact, in order to take up energy from said storage condenser, Whose reverse discharge through its charging connections is completely or partly prevented, by means of discharge tubes or similar means. d

14. Igniter in accordance with claim 1, which contains a' plurality of igniting condensers which deliver their energy as igniting currents through electrical igniting agents,

which are fed by a common storage condensenwhlch 1s chargeable from a source of current.

15. Igniter in accordance with claim 1,

which contains a plurality of igniting condensers which deliver their energy as igniting currents through electrical igniting agents, which are fed by a common storage condenser which is chargeable from a source of current,and wherein an igniting condenser is connected througha percussion-closing contact and an igniting agent operating with delay through a high ohmic resistance, and a second igniting condenser operating without delay through a percussion-closing contact and an igniting agent isconneetedthrough a high ohmic resistance and-a discharge tube connected in series therewith to a common storage condenser.

16. Igniter in accordance withclaim 1, for operatlon over or under Water,'and having two igniting condensers which. are feedable from a common storage condenser through high ohmic resistances each operating through a percussion-closing contact and an igniting agent, one of which igniting condensers, operating upon targets above water, upon striking of the igniter againstwater, is dischargeable by means of a short-circuit- 17. Igniter in accordance with claim 1,, wherema percussion-closing contact and, s1

multaneously a discharge tubeare providedin the discharging circuit of anignition condenser, whereby the energy of the same serves for producing a percussion ignition as well as a time ignition.

18. Igniter in accordance with claim 1, wherein a percussion-closing contact and simultaneously a discharge tube are provided inthe discharging circuit of an ignition condenser, whereby the energy of the same serves for producing a percussion ignition as well as a time ignition, and wherein the percus ion-closinglcontact and the discharge tube ar connected in. parallel to one another in a anner known per se, and in series with a single igniting agent. i 19. Process for providing energy to and timing electric igniters in accordance with claim 1, wherein in order to produce a time ignition a break-down discharge gap is in troduced into the discharge circuit of an ignition condenser wherein the charging voltage of the storage condenser is varied for attaining various timesof ignition.

I 20. Process for providing energy and timing electrical igniters in accordance with claim 1, wherein in order to produce a time ignition a discharge gap is inserted into the discharge circuit of an ignition condenser and the ignition condenser and its storage condenser are charged simultaneously but with mutually different voltages, in order to vary the nature of the ignition. v

21. PIOCQSSOI' providing energy to electrical igniters in accordance with claim 1, consisting in charging from a source of current only the storage condenser of the igniter, with the entire amountof energy required in the igniter.

.claim 1, which contains only one means for mtro'ducmg electrical energy 1J1t0-1tS-St0lage condenser,

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

HERBERT RUHLEMANN.

so u 

